Before dawn, Ruth Kilcher packed up her husband Yule's
backpack with fresh bread, extra clothes, and hunting gear
as he set off for moose hunting. Left to tend her growing
family of eight children, how did she cope with life on
the Kilcher Homestead? Her children recently discovered
Ruth's frank and revealing diary, a springboard for family
reminiscences.
About Community-Based Videos
Each of us has our own way of knowing, of interacting
with the world. The small personal voice carries truth
in its intimacy. These stories are the ones that captivate
us.
The Pratt Museum has brought together storytellers to
create community-based videos in their personal and communal
voice. Each video has been produced collaboratively from
start to finish by the storytellers. With this has come
an awakened sense of community born from listening to
each other and to the choir of many perspectives.
Credits
The Rich and Simple Life is a community-based documentary
created with the generous assistance and reflections of
Ruth Kilcher's children in collaboration with the Pratt
Museum.
Historic footage, filmed in the late 1940s by Yule Kilcher,
was taken from Pioneer Family in Alaska funded by the
Alaska Humanities Forum.
Still photographs were provided by the Kilcher family,
William Wakeland, and the Pratt Museum Photo Archives.
Print processing was provided courtesy of Alan Parks.
The Rich and Simple Life is a prophetic story written
in 1938 by Ruth at the age of 18 in Switzerland, long
before she realized her life in Alaska.
Readings were taken from Ruth's diary passed on to her
children following her death in 1997.
The Pratt Museum would like to thank Ruth Kilcher's
eight children:
Catkin Kilcher Burton
Stella Vera Kilcher
Otto Kilcher
Sunrise Kilcher Sjoberg
Atz Kilcher
Fay Kilcher Smith
Wurtila Kilcher Hepp
Mairiis Kilcher
Produced by
Pratt Museum, Homer Society of Natural History
Community Liaison, Producer
Wendy Erd
Videographer, Editor
David Parker
Curator of Collections
Betsy Webb
Instrumental music from Northwind Calling
Copyright © 1998 Mairiis Kilcher
Funded by
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Alaska Humanities Forum
Copyright © 2001 Pratt Museum And Kilcher Family
Trust
